Time is running out for the restoration of the Northern Ireland Executive under a revised Belfast Agreement.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Dermot Ahern, and the Northern Ireland Secretary, Mr Paul Murphy, meet in Dublin today to assess whether the apparent IRA offer to decommission their army - in a manner and timescale unknown - will be sufficient to entice the Democratic Unionist Party to share power with Sinn Féin in an all-inclusive government and guarantee the stability of the political institutions.
There are conflicting views in Government about the likelihood of success. It depends, ultimately, on the political strategy of Sinn Féin and the DUP for the elections in Britain and Northern Ireland next year.
Mr Ahern will also meet representatives of the Ulster Unionist Party tomorrow. The intensity of the political contact being made reflects the concern of the two governments that the goal of IRA decommissioning, which appeared to them to be available during negotiations at Leeds Castle, may not be grasped by the Democratic Unionist Party.
This concern led to the deliberate decision by the new Minister for Foreign Affairs to play his part in the orchestration of a new perspective for entry to government on his first official visit to Northern Ireland. He answered a question, apparently anticipated, with the aim of giving assurance to the DUP. The same standards, he indicated, would apply to membership of government, North and South. The DUP could not be expected to serve in government with Sinn Féin on terms any different to what would pertain in this State.
These are valid conditions at this stage in the peace process. There can be, as the Taoiseach said, only one army. It follows that if the IRA is decommissioned in a way that is independently verified, stood down and its members profess loyalty to the sovereign and democratic wishes of the people, there is no reason why Sinn Féin should not be eligible to be considered by voters as a participant in government, North and South.
Mr Dermot Ahern is now facing all of the flak in Fianna Fáil for setting the same standard for participation in government, North and South. That is unfair. He may have been naive, as the new Minister, to expect that he could answer a question that would have the desired effect "over the Border". He must come to terms with the fact that he has moved from a line department to a position with national and international implications.
The time has come, as we approach the end game, to have a fair playing field for democracy. The two governments, in their interpretation that the IRA was prepared to stand down at Leeds Castle - without providing any of the necessary detail to satisfy public opinion - hoisted this particular petard. If the IRA is prepared to wind-up - and only the Taoiseach can make this assessment - the prospect of Sinn Féin in government has moved from the hypothetical to the realm of reality.